FamilyCruiserUK

Nope not for me. I never understand paying to choose a room in the area you want to be to then pay again to upgrade and be put almost anywhere in that new grade. 🤷 If you win the bid.

Following along as we are on the same cruise and itinerary in April for my birthday 👍

Cruising for me gives me more opportunities to visit new places and countries. I do moan about Royals prices from the UK or around Europe especially when i look across the pond at how much cheaper it seems to be to cruise from Florida. But on the flip side you can be in a different country almost everyday on a European Cruise. Add in the flights, i can get rtn flights for 3 to Europe from the UK for cheaper then a rtn flight for 1 person to florida. The ships excite me from Florida, Icon,Star, Any Oasis class but the destination does not. Once is enough at coco kay. So for us its cruises from Europe, around the Med or Greek Islands. Going with MSC and P&O in 2024 as they were far cheaper, including Graturites then Royal. So cruising is still something i enjoy instead of land holidays but i am no way loyal to Royal anymore.

Again another emotive subject. Ive been to many places in the world where i hear peoples experinces and they share what kinda contract they are on, perks, etc..However i deal in evidence and facts. I would like to see a proper contract stating how much they earn, perks, etc. I could probably find it somewhere on Google but TBH im cooking bread so cant really be bothered. I guess the answer would be to stop sailing with Royal. Whilst their ships are full, prices high, people toping up wages via graturites, Royal will continue down their current path. There is no incentive to change..as for the Staff, lots stay and come back for more. 🤷. And finally i guess we have to stop comparing their earnings, T&Cs with what we expect in the UK or US.

The indoor mrket in Barcelona on Las Ramblas is a must..The fresh food is stunning and well priced

MSC do it all the time in Europe and the Med. You can choose where you get on the ship. Whilst its a good idea in principle it can be annoying as they will do the muster drill everytime new people get on. But those already onboard do NOT need to attend. Just closes some venues for a little bit. But TBH 99% of the time you would be off the ship exploring. But it is good if you want to start/end if a different city rather than Barcelona.

Sad icon and star only sailing out of the US, but its Royals biggest cash cow and probably easier to iron out any issues being home ported. I am looking forward to the reviews though. Merry Christmas all who celebrate.

Wow so uk prices about £1.20 ish. Got to wonder what ingredients are in that....... 🤔 🤣

Easy access to that side of the ship?

I would imagine royal would be looking at the profit margin of the ships. Do smaller ships make enough profit for Royal? Do they offer the best return for the cost to build and run? Can they use the same business model of the larger ships, seas days and rhe odd stop at the private island? IMO i dont think smaller ships will be in Royals future plans. The cost to build and run port heavy low passengers sub 3K is becoming more specialised type of cruse which royal dosnt seem to be interested in. For Royal the ship is the destination with lots of passengers spending lots onboard. Whilst there continues to be a market for this type of cruise out of predominantly florida royal will keep the big ship cash cows.

We also looked at Icon when she was released and Star but the costs are too high at the moment and the itinerary is the same old. We have done Oasis of the seas and really enjoyed it both times around Europe and Mexico. In the end we booked MSC world Europa out of Barcelona April 24, including grats and drinks for £1700. Two adults and 1 child 7 days. Flights an extra £500. 👍

Are you not saying above that you will always tip 0-14% for bare minimum or less? So you would tip for rubbish service yet not want it added to the cost of the fare? Why an earth would anyone tip for poor service, a tip in my eyes is above and beyond....if its expected its a extra service charge. However tipping is completely up to the individual 👍

Its simple its cruise ship policy end off. Just like selling booze in port in the middle east. You cant buy a alcoholic drink untill the ship sails into international waters. The country decides what you can and cant do in their territory and the cruise ship decides what you can and cant do in international waters with guidance from maritime law. Time people started to respect those laws and stopped being selfish.

Add Graturites to the cost of the cruise, pay the crew better wages, get rid of the extra charges on drinks and the speciality meals. Have an oasis class ship do two weeks including sothern Carribbean islands.

Maybe a change with the times lets have a God Father...... Now who would you choose. 🤔 Sir David Attenborough for me but maybe a huge cruise ship not in tune with his ideals.

WJ always for us. 1, Flexibility in when we eat 2, Better choices and can go and get as much or as little as i want. 3, very little waiting 4, best place to eat with our daughter. 👍

Royal are very cleaver at wording deals that are not actually deals. Once you work it out and compare it to other "deals" its usually the same or very little difference..... 🤣

Again tipping is a personal thing for individuals. With the enforcement of a minimal wage in the UK is there any reason to tip extra in resturants? Its another "well we always used to do it that way" moment. Do people tip those who work in shops, work the tills, work in fast food restaurants, all those others who are also on minimal wage? Tipping restaurant staff is something that is just ingrained in people. Reward above and beyond and great customer service, i am totally in with that. But tip just to tip as its expected or what we always used to do.....Na. Maybe i am just a little bias, my wife works in a well known supermarket on minimal wage and has to deal with a lot more customer issues, good and bad rather than someone in a restaurant (which she has also done) but she never gets tips.....🤔

Ah thanks for that.

Can you point any of us uk/europeans in the right direction of a good us travel agent......

Nope. Tips are for extra service above and beyond what they are paid to do in their terms and conditions. I will tip someone if i feel they have gone above and beyond however it should never be enforced or expected. I am not interested in what people get paid that is between the employer and employees. I also do not compare what people get paid depending on what country they live in. Yes they get paid less than the same job in the UK but then their cost of living in their own countries is less than in the UK. I wouldnt expect to get paid UK wages for the same job in Indonesia. 🤷 I know that sounds harsh and i get it but IMO tips are earned not expected.

On the flip side. I priced up a week on star including flights, grats,hotels, car parking from the uk against two weeks with virgin holidays in florida including park tickets and self catering food. Virgin turned out slightly cheaper. So for us to travel across the pond, the current icon and star prices do not make good value.

Lots of people i know here in the UK have credit cards and lots have lots of debt on them. Most just pay the minimum fee each month rather than the full amount and with interest added monthly the debt rarely goes down.

So Royal wants to aggressively barge into the Disney/Florida family market by placing Star out of PC i believe. So had a look today.....🤣🤣🤣🤣 I can get two weeks in florida, including flights from the UK during school holidays, food and park tickets for less than than 1 week including flights on Star..... Looks a nice ship but i will pass for a few years, too expensive, rubbish same old itinerary. Although i am looking forward to the reviews from those who are going and hope they enjoy themselves, but as of yet not for us. 👍

Theres a throught off to a chinese market brb.....or did i mean lab🤔 😂